From logos to identity
I’ve been thinking about it for a while — selling my second blog Logo Design Love.
Although logos can be hugely creative on their own, they’re rarely used in isolation (if at all), but a visual identity system, with the logo (or brandmark) playing an important role, creates an entire atmosphere around a brand, and when done right, can build customer relationships, increase sales, maximise profits.
Although there’s no rush to sell, I’d like to launch a new blog — one with a clear emphasis on “identity.” That’s when the fun of finding an available domain comes into play. I was thinking about something like Thoughts on Identity or Identity Designed (the domains are reserved just in case). Any ideas?
I’ve never sold a website before, and could do with a little advice.
An auction site’s a possibility, but Ian made a point worth considering — should I sell to the right person, or the one with the most money? And then, if I don’t use an auction, how do I set a value?
This is all assuming there’ll be enough interest.
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I’m not much help on the site selling side of things, but I just wanted to say I would love to see more sites focused on identity and not just logos. Good luck!
Hey David,
Yah it would seem an identity blog would be more “you.”
As an avid reader on Logo Design Love, I would love to see you sell it to someone who was interested in keeping it going. Obviously the site has some serious traffic and a lot of back links.
I’ve sold a few domains, but none of those had content on them. Usually between $250-$1000. You can use sites like stimator.com to ‘calculate’ what your site is worth, but really the sites only worth what someone is willing to pay.
As far as a new domain… and haven’t checked this, but something like identitylove.com.
Good luck and looking forward to your new endeavor, whatever it might be.
Good luck selling the site to someone with money and who cares.
As for new domains, I think identity is not as popular as design and logo
Among those that came to mind first and which are available at the moment are
iheartidentity.com
identitydiary.com
David,
How about “Identity Design Love”? The domain identitydesignlove.com is availbale at time of writing…so be quick!
As for who you should sell it to…it depends entirely on you. Do you sell to make money? Or do you sell it to someone you know will continue the legacy you have set? Only you have the answer.
By the way, loved the book. Good luck.
Hi everyone. Thanks for the domain suggestions and good luck messages. I’ll probably keep “love” out of the URL this time around. If I pass the website to someone else it’d be better to make a clean break.
Good luck, sounds like a good move.
As far as selling it goes, I’d probably stay away from auctions initially, perhaps offer it to people who you trust, know or think might be interested.
If you just explain that you’re trying to find a good home for it I don’t imagine many people minding the direct approach.
As for pricing it, it’s tough. It’s certainly a popular blog so you shouldn’t shy away from trying for a high price, I think the work that has gone into it justifies a premium price. I guess really it might be useful to just open it up to “offers” via email, and just look through the offers, and the buyers until you find a combination that works for you.
I agree that it’s important to find somebody who’s going to look after the blog, but at the same time you deserve a fair price for the work that you’ve put into it.
Good luck.
I don’t think you can ever really sell a website. You can sell the domain, but when it leaves your hands, the site will become something else, even if the person taking it over intends to carry on what you started (like bands that reform with a new lead singer). Inevitably, their own personality will take over, for better or for worse. However, you should do what’s right for you. If the time has come to move on to something else, you shouldn’t linger on what you currently have just because it’s successful.
Interested to see where this goes. Best of luck!
I would be quite keen to see this “identity” blog when you get that up and running. It does sound like it would better represent what you do now.
I think Logo Design Love would deserve a high price tag. After all, it is one of the most popular logo blogs on the net, isn’it it? That sort of readership is hard to come by, and whoever wants to buy it would need to acknowledge that when they make you an offer.
David, have you considered not selling the blog at all, but just change the domain name and redirect all the backlinks and posts to the new URL? All the logo design content could just be achieved …and just start blogging about branding instead? Just a thought.
Also, now that you have a LDL book, how would this effect selling the site?
I hope all goes well with the proposed change in direction – whichever major decision you make.
As far as readership, I would keep LDL.com until traffic on the identity blog picked up. Then I would sell LDL.
Expanding on what I tweeted earlier David, you have to follow what you find interesting and are passionate about. Words flow far easier when you’re genuinely excited about a topic.
I think selling the site would be far better than letting it stagnate with the occasional disinterested post.
As for where to sell the site its up to you obviously. Sites like ‘stimator are useless for estimating a sites worth. Just type in a site like boingboing.net and see how poorly it performs.
There are website brokers out there who can negotiate a deal for you but you might be better finding someone willing to buy it with in the existing readership of the site.
Hey David
You are right to focus on the bigger picture re: branding / identify.
Here are some tips to get you on the right track with selling the site:
1: Decide is selling the right idea
2: Put a price on the site
3: Collect all required info for buyers
4: Target the correct people
If you are selling your site then like a normal business it is hard to figure out a selling price.
You should consider what you will be happy to walk away with and what the numbers tell you.
You also take into account the area that Logo Design Love operates , and if your site has any competition. How much labour, technical skill , and expert knowledge is required to run the site. (as this puts extra costs to buyers)
Buyers will want to know if the site is growing (how fast), what potential it has.
Like in business or Dragons Den people will tell you different ways to measure the value of a site: that a site should be 10 times its gross profit, 5 times annual revenue or 3 times last years annual revenue,
A good rule to thumb is 3-6 times the yearly earnings (before tax etc).
When you have a price in mind, then you need to start putting together detailed statistics on visitors , revenue etc
Logo Design Love has a great follower base, but it does require someone GOOD in design to add great content…..
So you should consider: Selling, outsourcing the running of the site or donating the site to designers
Maybe 3-4 designers would like to get it together, and use it to refer business to themselves.
If you need more advice please feel free to get in touch and I can go into this in more detail.
Adam
I think it’s a great idea.
When visiting websites of design studios I used to look at the Logos link first if there was one. Now I look at the Case Studies. Logos by itself don’t mean anything. I always enjoy projects where logo is successfully translated into whole identity package. I think it’s a great challenge to create unified identity. Good luck! I will be visiting your site often.
I agree with Andrew Kelsall. Just change the domain name.
My thoughts,
I feel like this blog already deals with identity, you rarely show a logo without showing it in context.
Also, I think you should keep this domain only because it’s linked to your book and you. You should either use this domain to redirect to identity blog to take advantage of the traffic or use it as an online resource for your book.
Weigh the importance of a larger reader base that will give you more traffic and advertising against a one time reward.
I would ask for offers and only sell if you get a substantially large offer that you can’t refuse.
Hope this helps,
Ryan Baum
Also, I’d like to add some thoughts on names:
Identity Crisis
Identity Interest
Ideal Identity
I feel like something catchy with alliteration or a play on words like identity crisis would work best.
Also, just an idea of what your site might be worth
http://stimator.com/logodesignlove-com
It could be less or more depending on what somebody is willing to pay.
Hey David,
I don’t know if you are still throwing around ideas for a name for the blog but I do prefer “Identity Designed” over “Thoughts on identity”. A name like “Identity Designed” would probably appeal to a wider audience because it stirs curiosity.
Here’s are a few of my suggestions –
(ID)entity
ID=abbreviation for identification, entity= oneness and individuality as well as identity
Identity
Just the simple, bold, straight forward word identity should be enough to spark peoples’ curiosity and interest.
Valid ID required
This is obviously associated with legalities and bureaucracy but it could also imply the importance and need for strong identity design no matter the business or organization.
ID
This is a play off of your idea. ID could stand for “Identity Designed”. The two letters, I and D opens up a huge window for possible logo designs. It is simple and definitely memorable. The only problem is that it may conflict with I.D. Magazine.
Hope this helps! Congratulations by the way! God bless you and your wife.
If you have to sell, please sell to the right person. This site is so valuable to our students, interns and staff.
Hey David,
Good luck with your new venture. I don’t have any experience with selling blogs, but am sure many people will chip in here that will have. A blog more focused on identity design would seem to be more in line with the direction you have been moving over the years.
Just to echo what Andrew said above, have you considered not selling LDL and just redirecting the link juice to your new site? Personally, that is what I would be doing, unless of course I received an offer I just couldn’t refuse (100K+).
If you proceed with the sale, it would be nice to see the blog go into the right hands. Given that you authored a book with the same name, there is no escaping your association with the LDL brand. The worst case scenario would be for LDL to fall into the wrong hands and tarnish some of the great work you have done until now.
Best of luck with everything mate. We will all support you no matter what direction you take.
I was thinking along the same lines as Andrew and Duane… what about the book that has the same name? I thought I remembered you saying you were thinking to sell the domain eventually when you first started it, but now that there’s a book maybe it would be better to not sell? That doesn’t mean you have to continue writing articles, though; this site could turn into an archive of sorts (maybe design a static home page template that looks less like a blog and more like a magazine-style site?).
I also agree with many of the comments above that it would be better to accept a little less money and have the site go to someone who will respect the name you’ve built here and continue to provide quality information. Though the person (or company?) offering the most money may also be the right person to get the site! No need for the two to be mutually exclusive!
As for the new site, Identity Designed sounds great to me! Think you’ll write another book of the same name? That might also be something to consider when choosing the name for the new site. Can’t wait to read the thoughts on it!
Man, “Logo Design Love” is the best name so far for a crowd sourcing logo design company I was thinking of starting. The idea is simple: I’ll get students and poor designers to have love for logo designing to submit designs for clients. I’ll let the client choose the best one and I’ll take the money. Sounds perfect!
(for anyone who’s followed David for any length of time, you should have guessed at this point that this is the single most infuriating comment anyone could have left on any site of his :) :) )
You KNOW I’m kidding.
I respect your confidence in going off onto a new blog. I think the “identity” rather than “logo” idea has a lot of merit and you’ll attract readership with your usual high quality posts.
I’ve got to throw in with the anti-sale crowd though…why not redirect? You could always add a “this domain may be for sale” if you want to get organic offers. But you’ve worked hard for the traffic and links – it’s “black gold, Texas tea,” I tell you. Don’t walk away hastily ;-]
Hello David,
First off great idea about switching from logo to identity. I’ve always been a fan of that way of thinking.
I just wanted to add my two sense on a possible domain name. The first thing I thought of was using you name. You have an “id” in your name already. I feel like there’s something magical in there that can be worked.
A few quick thoughts.
http://www.identitydavid.com
http://www.iddavid.com
Both are problematic but just thought using your name cleverly would be fun.
p.s. Logo Design Love the book is a joy to own. Well done.
Lauren makes an excellent point: the website has a direct connection with your book. Whatever you choose to do with the site, I think there needs to be an ongoing association with you (as author) for this reason. Perhaps the domain could be used to showcase the book, while the archive of content could be included with (or could forward to) your new identity site for reference purposes.
Good luck with the new site. It’s a natural progression to focus on identity after the success you’ve achieved building a profile and a body of work in logo/identity design.
Hi David,
I absolutely agree with Lauren in regards to not to sell the blog as it is related to your book. If you will sell the blog the association with your book will break. Use the blog as a static showcase like Tracey said. Keep it with you and consider it as a stepping stone for your next step i.e blog emphasizing on Identity design. Whatever will be your decision, all the best for your new blog.
Hi David, I would encourage you NOT to sell the domain Logo, Design, Love. I would encourage you to point the domain name to your new blog or site for David Airey. You have built up such a following that all the SEO would be lost and a waste. I personally have two other domain names that I originally registered, used and then decided were not working for me. But people still search from those names so I pay the minimum fee just to point the domain name to my main one. Renewing each year for around $20AUD is really nothing, and paying for the renewal of the domain name every 2 years isn’t so bad either. I’d seriously reconsider selling. You are welcome to contact me personally by email. Cheers.
Hi David, tricky one this. I agree with Ryan that you should keep it and have both site work together. All the new identity and brand implementation studies you’ll feature will no doubt have strong logo elements that you’d like to feature on logodesignlove and you’d no doubt kick yourself if it no longer existed. People would still use both resources, one for logo inspiration and referencing and the other to help with the wider issues of implementation, each important in their own rights. Yes this would mean more work running two content rich blogs but I think the result would be worth it.
Hi David,
All the best. Hope you’ll get good price and the site goes into good hands.
And for the domain (of course you said no ‘love’ this time in domain, but) if interested I have ‘IdentityLove.com’ registered, which I can give to you.
The option in my tweet that I advocate, if you do decide to sell it, is to sell to the right person who will continue the site in the vein that you yourself ran it. Sure let them add a personal touch, but it should remain largely the same.
As was mentioned above, it directly relates to your book and yourself, and has helped extend your online position and influence within the design community.
Whatever you decide to do, the best of luck with the new site, I, for one, will be a visitor.
Hi David,
If you are looking to sell via an auction site, Flippa is an excellent marketplace for buying and selling good quality web sites:
http://flippa.com/
I think it would be a great shame for you to relinquish the LDL domain name. I think there are some good ideas above to use the traffic to your advantage on your new site.
If you are set on selling it though, I think there are very few people who could continue your work on LDL, given the quality of the posts which you write. LDL is you, and thats why the visitors return.
Or, how about inviting 3 or 4 “guest writers” to LDL on a permanent basis. That way the domain and “legacy” carries on, but with a minimal amount of work from yourself.
Would be a shame to see LDL go, if thats what happens, but I am absolutely positive your current reader base will follow you wherever.
While everyone here is offering you great support, I’d like to remind you of something which may make the decision a little harder.
Logo Design Love is more than a website, it’s also a book. It’s a full blown brand which you own.
How happy would you be to place possible future sales of your book in the hands of the highest bidder? What someone does with this site will change peoples perception of log design love as a brand, and that will include your book.
So if you do decide to sell, I would encourage you to find the right person rather than the right price.
Hi David – I always check what you have to say and I’m never disappointed. You really know your stuff and you’re a constant inspiration. I have an idea for a name, and it is available, so you have first dibs ;-) – what do you think of “identitytalks.com”?
S+
Do not sell, just redirect all the content you already have to the new blog. Thanks for sharing this kind of “blog-ideas”
Every name containing the word ‘identity’ sounds a bit lame, (sorry guys). The only thing I can think of that doesn’t is possibly identityparade.com. You need a clever name, LogoDesignLove sounds good and rolls off the tongue. A lot of suggestions here sound very “daytime TV”, and that’s not good.
Best of luck with it all though David.
If you have a following and know how to produce SEO savvy articles, I wouldn’t think that having the keyword in the domain was all that important.
As far as identity goes for a new blog, I’d base the name on the identity of the new blog and not the word “identity” per se.
I say keep it. Because essentially you have made it into a sub-identity of you. The blog is associated to you and now you even have a book of the same title. If I were in your position, it might feel like selling hand or a foot if not the whole arm/leg.
If you are in the planning stages of a second blog, simply retire LDL. As you get closer to launch, start putting notes on LDL that LDL 2.0, whatever form it takes, is coming. Then on launch day, take down LDL and put up a splash page and direct people to the new domain. Then, after a while, change the DNS entry on LDL to point to the new domain.
Instead of selling, why not just evolve the site to include identity. You already have started talking about identity anyway. Just change the name and have LDL and the new name point to the blog.
Some great tips here. I’ve tried selling my domain whyusechrome.com, but no success. Admittedly I didn’t try very hard. I checked out the stimator.com site and was very interested. My main site Designtypegeek.com is actually worth some good coin!
Whatever you decide, best of luck! I wish I could make the time to spend on my site.
My – humble – answer to your question is a big no: I don’t think it would impact well on your reputation. If you _sell_, you do it for money, otherwise you _gift_ the domain to the right person/organisation.
Definetely not sell your domain.
–
Playing around with a couple of links among the comments, I realized my website is worth $ 51,00… WOW!
Cheers
David, how about CreatID? be it CreatID Blog / CreatID Branding…I dunno, just a thought. Some others:
IDefined
IDesigned
I-dentity
The Branded ID / The Branded Identity
Identification Clarification / Clear ID
IDentified
…just some thoughts. I’ll hate to see Logo Design Love go into someone elses hands, I’ve always viewed it as an identity blog to begin with even with “Logo” in the title, but you must do what you feel is right. I am excited to see where you take this new avenue, would I be going too far out on a limb to assume this direction will fuel book 2?
Excellent comments. Having read what you have to say, I think the better option is probably to keep the site as an archive — unless an offer I can’t refuse comes along. The content shows a progression in where I’ve come from, and also acts as a precursor to the book.
Mark, it’s a fairly popular blog, sure, but I think it’s only as valuable as a potential owner deems it to be.
Andrew, I wasn’t keen on redirecting the URLs, mainly because I saw the new blog as a different entity. A fresh start. You make a good point about the book (just as Ryan, Duane, Lauren, Tracey, and Chris do — thanks, folks). If I was to sell to someone who neglected the site, or turned it into a spec-venture, for instance, it would reflect badly.
Rich, I agree. I’d much rather archive or sell than publish the very occasional post because I felt I had to.
Adam, those tips are appreciated. Thanks for taking the time.
Aaron, that does help, and I reckon Identity Designed is top of the current list.
Lauren, you’re right, and Chris, no, not too far of a limb. The idea is to use the new blog as a lead-in to a second book, so I need to make sure the title is exactly the right one.
Phil, very glad you enjoyed the book. Great of you to make a purchase.
Al, there’s that — keeping it going at the same time as a new blog — but I really couldn’t see myself having the time to do all three justice.
Chaitanya, kind of you to offer. Thank you. You’re not the first to mention something like Identity Love, given the little equity I have around the word, but personal preference is to keep “love” out of this one.
Scott, the invited guest authors is definitely an option. I’ll think more about that. Cheers.
SteHan, it’s fairly short, which is good, but it doesn’t grab me like one or two others. I appreciate the suggestion, though.
Doug, I’d thought about that, too — how it’s not overly important to have keywords within a domain. But when carrying it across to a book, I think the significance increases.
Thanks very much to everyone who commented. You helped a lot.
What about “crowdsourceidendities.com”? :)
That’s an oxymoron if there ever was one :)
It’s nice to know that there is no feasible way anyone could bilk the design community with an “identity design” version of the “logo design” crowd source sites. Identity design takes too much actual knowledge and experience, and a client relationship, to pull that off. Logos are commodities, but branding services can’t be commoditized since they are reducible to a one-off vector file by any stretch of the imagination. I think focusing on identity sounds like a great evolution for what you do on many levels.
Hi David,
It’s so easy for us to give you advice. We’re not sitting where you are right now :).
The thing is you need to think about why you started the blog in the first place? Sounds like you have made a progression to where you are at which is exciting.
Logo Design Love is however more than a blog and a resource, it’s a ‘Lovemark’.
As for naming your new blog here is a great post from Seth Godin on the topic.
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2005/10/the_new_rules_o.html
When you Google ‘identity design’ it returns 31million results. Also a point to think about is that as your blog/business morphs you may find yourself in a similar position down the track of having to shift to another name or URL.
Have you though of naming it something you could take with you to another venture and hang other projects from?
Flickr and Twitter are just great examples of that.
You could go with something like Identery.com (available) or do the whole Purple Cow type name.
Whatever you decide we’ll all look forward to reading your content.
Why change the name of blog David?
Why not just ease people into the bigger picture of branding. A few posts about ‘you are more than a logo’ will soon get people into the mindset you are trying to create.
‘Design logo love’ goes a long way to describing branding anyway. Love is a big part of it. I’m pretty sure you have read the book ‘Lovemarks’. I’ve always thought that your blog could have gone further along these lines anyway.
If you were going to be doing another book however, it may be wise to set up another blog with the book title.
Hi
I am sad that logodesignlove will be coming to an end, although looking forward to the new venture.
Would it not be worth considering (Since you have such an avid following) rather than archiving, choosing a select few to carry on your work with it for you? I’m sure there are many talented and experienced designers who collaboratively could carry the site on, perhaps with some instruction from yourself?
Just a thought.
Goodluck with the new site.
Dan
Hi David, just stopped in for a visit and I found your blog very well done. I also dabble in Graphic design myself… in Canada. Love to have you check out my blog for some critique.
One of my considerations, Doug. No doubt.
Good thoughts there, Bernadette. Thanks very much.
I’ve not read it, actually, Lee. My next “to buy.” The plan is to use a new blog as the basis for another book, so as you say, a new title may be the way to go.
Cheers, Daniel. Olivia. Your blog address was broken, Olivia. If you leave it again I’ll happily offer my first impression.
Hey David!
I think you should sell your old website to someone who can continue the legacy, rather than someone who will buy it for a high price, and sell it again.
As for the price, you should consider search engine rankings, total content, and stuff like that. Good luck!
If and when you do or do not sell it, let us know! :)
(Sorry if that sentence didn’t make sense…)
“…use a new blog as the basis for another book…”
This is a great idea! In a sense, you pretest the book market by putting all the risk in the blog. I like it…
David. If you do start up a new blog for sure let us all know what it is!
Hello again David, thanks for letting me know.
My site is Art of Olivia Burrage
You’ve got a lot of great responses for the post. I really liked the start of this blog about what makes a good attractive logo. The picture actually reminds me of the cities that attract many people who are looking to escape, express themselves or both. Such as the city of Berlin, Germany where graffiti plays a huge role as part of their culture post-WWII. Nice post and great picture. Good luck with selling the website!
No problem. My best piece of advice, if you want to use your blog to attract clients, is to move away from the Blogger-hosted account and set-up your own site. I recommend WordPress.org. Here are a few mistakes I made when I started blogging.
David, have you checked if the publisher of your book is interested in it? Maybe they are willing to take and develop it with you as a consultant. After all, they have a book out there with that name on it! So the site is valuable to them as well.
That way it might become some sort of e-zine with multiple contributors and less work for you.
Something worth asking, Tjeerd. Thanks.
I see that the suggestions focus around “id”, however you may consider “brand” instead.
brandneux
brandeen
brandentity
brandaid
brandsome (my personal fave)
These are random ideas and I have no idea if they are even available. But I know the search for domains is brutal – hence I had to find a creative way to spell thinktank.com and came up with thinquetanque.com
I like brandaid the most because it is memorable, if not taken already. I like brandsome too but it doesnt have the same ring as brandaid. However, brandsome is slightly more humorous if you can see that.
Thesaurus.com could be very helpful.
Ken.
Hi David,
I’m glad to see you’re shifting away from the initial idea of selling the blog. It is just too greatly interwoven in your own name for it to go out of your control without jeopardy.
However, I do understand your shift in interest. I’d recommend turning the mirror on yourself and viewing yourself as a brand. Decide upon your primary overarching goal, make that your base company, and consider other ventures as sub-divisions/brands. You only have so many hours in a day, so consider hiring others or having these other ventures (at this time, I speak of logodesignlove) change in focus slightly so they are more community driven.
Hope this helps. Best of luck!
Thanks for the thoughts. I’ve chosen a new venture to create, but will keep a hand in LDL for now, and see if I can shift bring some trusted others on board.